At A Glance: Site Location: Main Street, Concord Site Profile: Former Cumberland Farms

Gas Station

DES Reimbursements: $151,259 Outcomes:

� 1,219.4 tons of contaminated soil

removed and properly disposed of.

� Comprehensive site investigation

and groundwater monitoring

program completed.

� The property was successfully

redeveloped into a bank branch.

Overview The former Cumberland Farms gas station

on Main Street in Concord became

redundant when Cumberland Farms

acquired all of the former Exxon gas

stations in New Hampshire. Cumberland

Farms now owned gas stations directly

across the street from each other with a

Hess station less than a tenth of a mile

away. Cumberland Farms

decommissioned its tanks and sold the

former station to Laconia Savings Bank,

which successfully redeveloped the

property into a bank branch.

History

The former Cumberland Farms gas station has been used for retail sale of gasoline since at least

1947. Cumberland Farms became the owner in 1986 when they purchased the station from

Chevron USA. The property was sold to Laconia Savings Bank and was redeveloped into a

branch office.

Environmental Assessment and Cleanup

A total of 12 gasoline, diesel, waste oil and heating

oil tanks were present over time at this facility. Tanks

were removed in 1992, 2006 and 2008 from the

property. The 750-gallon waste oil UST and 1,000-

gallon fuel oil UST were removed from the site on

July 29, 1992. Limited contamination was discovered

and the release was quickly closed. On November 19,

2002, there was a report of vapors in the on-site

building. Emergency response efforts consisted of the

repair of leaky tank top components and sealing of all

electrical conduits leading from the tank top manifold

sumps to the interior of the building. This

significantly improved the indoor air problems.

Picture of 2006 tank removal project.

Laconia Savings Bank, Concord

On April 16, 2003, ECSMarin submitted a

report documenting that higher

concentrations of benxene, toluene,

ethylbenzene, xylenes and methyl tertiary-

butyl ether (MTBE) were detected in the two

air interior samples, as compared to a sample

collected outside. DES requested that

Cumberland Farms complete and initial site

characterization (ISC) in response to the

indoor air problem. On November 14, 2003,

ECSMarin submitted the requested ISC

documenting indoor air quality monitoring,

soil boring, monitoring well installation, and

groundwater sampling activities conducted at

the site. The June 2003 indoor air quality

results for MtBE were significantly better

than the March results.

Groundwater samples collected from all site monitoring wells during ISC activities exceeded

state standards for MTBE and multiple wells exceeded standards for benzene, toluene,

ethylbenzene, xylenes and/or naphthalene. Based on the groundwater contamination, DES

requested a comprehensive investigation of the site. After a series of delays prompted by a

problem in obtaining access to the adjacent property, a site investigation report was submitted in

June 2006. This report recommended soil excavation as the presumptive remedy for the site.

Around this time, the decision was made to discontinue operating this facility and the tanks were

put into temporary closure on August 11, 2006. By October 2006, four 8,000 gallon gasoline

tanks were excavated and removed from the site. During the tank removal, 288 tons of

contaminated soil was excavated from the site from the vicinity of the tank grave. Coordination

of the soil excavation with the tank closure saved the Oil Discharge and Disposal Cleanup Fund

(ODD Fund) significant amounts of money for mobilization and equipment rental. Groundwater

monitoring continued during this time period to evaluate the effectiveness of the soil removal.

In 2008 Cumberland Farms approached DES about coordinating a soil excavation project with

the proposed site redevelopment. DES agreed and approved a budget for contaminated soil

delineation. The soil delineation report was submitted on November 3, 2008 and after an

expedited review of the report DES approved a soil excavation work scope and budget on

November 18, 2008. During the soil excavation project three underground storage tanks were

found under and around Court Street. One of the tanks was removed and the two tanks that were

directly under the street were closed in place. Closing the two tanks in place prevented a future

collapse in a portion of Court Street when the tanks eventually lose structural integrity. A report

documenting the removal of 931 tons of contaminated soil was submitted February 3, 2009. The

bank building construction project started in the spring and by the summer of 2009 replacement

groundwater monitoring wells were installed at the completed project. The property itself is now

clean; however, a limited groundwater monitoring program continues because it was not possible

to remove contamination under Main Street and the sidewalk. The groundwater monitoring

ensures that the city of Concord and NHDOT are aware of potential construction issues, if Main

Street utilities or road repairs are made.

Redevelopment Project Success

In many states there is a significant problem with gas stations that are shuttered but not

redeveloped. Major oil companies look at the bottom line economics of redeveloping their

closed gas stations and base their decision on that economic reality. In New Hampshire’s case,

the ODD Fund reimburses for the cleanup costs and the decision to proceed with a

redevelopment project such as this one is straight forward. Cumberland Farms decided that it

was in its economic best interest to redevelop the gas station, and Concord’s Main Street

benefited from an attractive new business replacing a shuttered gas station.

Demolition of the former gas station was coordinated with the contaminated soil removal project.

This made the soil excavation project more efficient and ensured that the development project

could proceed without concerns about encountering soil contamination. As typically happens

during redevelopment of old gas station sites, there were surprises. As mentioned, three

previously unknown underground storage tanks were found partially under Court Street. The

role the ODD Fund played in paying for and addressing uncertainties, such as the cost impact of

unknown older tank installations and new areas of contamination, reduced concerns about

environmental cleanup cost estimation and was important for redeveloping this old gas station

site.

Picture of the finished redevelopment project.